The Prophecies of Pythia
by RaydorCakes
Summary: "All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again." Laura Roslin thought for sure she was going to die this time, but instead, she finds herself reliving the months after the decimation of the colonies with an insight into the future. (Starts around the time of 'Pegasus')
1. Chapter 1

_The incessant beeping of her vital monitors and the smell of antiseptic reminded her how much she hated this place. It was all frakking ridiculous, the fact that she could barely open her eyes, let alone walk on her own. She'd survived a war and a half, led the dwindling population of the human race to some semblance of safety, and had willed herself both mentally and physically to never give up. But she couldn't even open her damned eyes. The beeping of her monitors was driving her insane, and she just wished she could shut it all down. Shut down the pain, shut down the suffering, and shut down her emotions but she couldn't. There were many things Laura Roslin was, but cylon wasn't one of them. She was doomed to feel the pain she believed they so often missed out on. She could feel it all, every breath that forced its ragged way from her lungs, every ache and pain that shot through her degrading body._

 _"Laura, take my hand... If you can hear me, take my hand." A woman's voice asks and she does as she is told, reaching blindly into the space surrounding her._

 _The hand that meets hers is slender and cool, and the instant they make contact the black space beneath her eyelids is flooded with colour. The steady beeping of her monitor is gradually replaced by an alarming sound she knew all too well, and as her surroundings came more into focus, she realized she was standing within the bleak walls of the CIC._

"This is the Commander, set condition one throughout the ship." Bill instructs, looking eagerly up at DRADIS as Saul comes to stand beside him.

"Bill?" Laura questions, taking her first hesitant step towards the duo, "Bill, what's going on?"

"Madam President, what the frak are you doing off of Colonial One?!" He asks angrily, stomping over to her, "Madam President?!"

"Bill, what's happening?" She looks at him frantically, confusion and worry flashing across her face as she grabs his arm to steady herself.

"We're under attack, dammit!" He exclaims, his voice still carrying the same strength but his touch much softer, "Saul, what's on DRADIS?"

"Three raiders!" The Commanding Officer replies, giving the bearings.

Bill lets out an exasperated "Frak me!" Before momentarily calming himself, "Action stations Saul! Call the godsdamn action stations and launch the frakking vipers!"

"This is the XO." He calls over the comm, his eyes never leaving his friend or the President, "Set action stations and launch alert vipers!"

"Bill? How did you... How did we... How am I here?" She stumbles over her words, her hands trembling as Bill bears the brunt of her weight, "Bill!" The panic in her voice is evident, and that only worries the Commander and his XO more.

"Madam President, I don't know where the frak you came from! Saul, how are the vipers? And call me frakking Colonial One!"

"Dee, call me Colonial frakking One!" Saul grumbles angrily, "Starbuck, what's it look like out there?"

"Starbuck?" Laura asks breathily, still clinging to Bill's arm, "Bill, Starbuck is dead."

"Dammit, you must've been drugged!" He exclaims under his breath, reaching up to push an auburn lock behind her ear, "Dee, Colonial One!"

"Patching you through now, Sir." She replies as Bill carefully leads Laura to the command table.

"Billy, can you tell me how the frak the President ended up on my ship?" He asks the young man, annoyance evident in his tone, "Billy!"

"Billy?" Laura echoes quietly, reaching up to take the phone from Bill's hand which he quickly darts away, "Billy died."

Mere moments later, Bill turns to Laura, his features hardening as he glared at her, "Billy, what the frak are you telling me?" He questions, and the young man's rambling voice can be heard on the other end of the line, "Give her the phone for gods' sake!" Bill exclaims, the tone of his voice causing Laura to jump, "Gods dammit!" He lowers the phone to his chest and glances at Saul, "What's the status?"

"Two outta three." He nods, "Starbuck's on a roll today."

"Colonel, can you..." Laura stumbles over her words, "Can you look at me?" She questions hesitantly.

"Gods." He mumbles under his breath before stepping towards her and Bill, "You look fine, Madam President."

"No, but... You don't." She reaches up and gently cups his cheek with her hand, "You have both of your eyes."

"Of course I have both of my eyes!" He shakes his head in disbelief, Laura's hand falling to her side, "Bill, take the damn woman to Cottle!"

"Got the last mother frakker!" Kara's voice echoes through CIC, "Great job everyone, now get your asses back on that ship!" She remarks with a laugh.

"Okay, Billy," Bill lets out a deep breath, rubbing his temples, "I'm taking her to Cottle's. Get over here as soon as you can- and _don't_ bring _her_ along. I want to see what she can tell us." He adds before hanging up the phone and carefully wrapping an arm around Laura's shoulder, "Let's go."

~oOo~

Out of all the things Laura Roslin had seen in her chamalla induced visions, Billy Keikeya had never been one of them. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him, sitting beside her hospital bed and bouncing his leg up and down nervously.

"Hi Billy." She greets sleepily, her eyelids heavy no doubt due to the sedative Cottle had given her.

"Madam President." He replies with a nod of his head, "Do you know how you got here?" Billy asks nervously, still fidgeting with his leg.

"I... Uh..." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, trying her hardest to remember, "I was in... In life station and... The cancer was back and I... I was dying. I was going to be with you again Billy. I was going to see my sisters and my father again."

"With me?" He questions, his ears perking up with interest, "Madam President, I can assure you I'm not leaving your side any time soon."

"Billy," Laura says quietly, covering her mouth with the back of her hand, crystal tears pooling in the corners of her eyes, "Billy, you die."

"What?" He exclaims, his eyebrows shooting into his hairline with surprise, "Madam President, I think I should go get Doc Cottle for you."

"Billy," She calls his name quietly as he turns towards the exit of her makeshift room, "could you bring me a phone? I need to speak with the Admiral."

"Of course Madam President." He nods before leaving to find Cottle.

~oOo~

"Well young lady," Cottle greets, a lit cigarette hanging from his lip as usual, "you're healthy as a horse. For the life of me I can't explain this. How in the hell did you get over here?"

"I... I don't know." She props herself up on her elbows, eyeing the doctor curiously, "Could I have been drugged?"

"No." He shakes his head as he glanced down at his files, "No signs of any drugs, not even chamalla."

"Madam President," Billy interrupts them hesitantly, "here's the phone you asked for."

"Thank you." She offers him a weak smile and punches in the Admiral's number, slowly lifting it to her ear as it rang. By the third ring the phone had been picked up on the receiving end, and she spoke first per tradition, "Admiral Adama," she greeted, "I'm calling to apologize for the trouble I caused earlier today." She shakes her head, her hair falling forward as she does so, obscuring her eyes, "I'm not sure-"

"Madam President?" A female voice interrupts, "This is Admiral Helena Cain."

"Admiral Cain?" Laura questions confusedly, "No... That's not... You're..."

"The Admiral of the Colonial Fleet, ma'am." She replies shortly.

"I'm sorry." Laura apologizes quickly, "I must've dialed the wrong number. Stay safe Admiral." She adds, knowing that not even the Gods could save her from the six that would no doubt put a bullet through her skull- _again_.

"Everything all right there little lady?" Doc Cottle asks gruffly, "You sound a little disoriented."

"I... I'm planning on promoting Bill to an Admiral, I guess it just crossed my mind I haven't yet." She tried weakly, earning her a confused look from both the doctor and her aide, "Could one of you find him for me? I have some questions for him."

"Uh, yes, Madam President, I'll go find him." Billy replies before quickly exiting the infirmary in search of the Commander.


	2. Chapter 2

"Bill." Laura breathes out happily as he pushes back the curtain surrounding her cot, "Thank you."

He nods in recognition and sits in the chair aside of her bed, clasping his hands together in his lap, "How are you feeling?"

"Better." She sighs and moves herself to a sitting position, "Bill, what's happening to me?"

"What do you remember?" He questions, his face steeled but his eyes conveying all of his concern.

"What do you want me to tell you, Bill? I have all of these memories of us, of the fleet, of finding Earth, but somehow Admiral Cain and Billy and Starbuck are alive. I don't know what's real anymore."

"Laura, what's the last thing you remember before we found you in the CIC?" He questions again, reaching hesitantly out and placing his hand atop hers, "I'd love to hear everything." He offers her a small smile, his eyes momentarily closing before he focuses on her, "Whenever you're ready."

Establishing a timeline would be best, she thought, hesitantly proposing her question to the man in front of her, "Have you been shot?" Her voice is almost inaudible, but Bill nods his head solemnly in response, "Did Admiral Cain... did she... try to assassinate you?"

"No." He looks up at her, his blue eyes sparkling wildly, "Why would-"

 _"All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again."_ She recites the verse from _Pythia_ , "Bill, where I came from, that place, wherever the hell that was, we lost lives. We watched our friends fall, and we waited until it was too late to say the things we had to. Bill, I love you." She declares through a watery smile, gently grazing his lips with hers. She opens her eyes and grins, shocked when she is met by fire in his eyes, the kind she only saw when he was ready to kill.

"I'm sorry." He manages to bark out through clenched teeth as he clicked one handcuff around her wrist and the other to the side of her cot.

~oOo~

"What the hell, Bill?!" The brunette exclaims from behind her desk aboard Colonial One, her arms crossed defiantly over her chest and her glasses resting precariously on the tip of her nose, "I am _not_ a cylon. Think about what you're saying!"

"I _have_ thought about it!" He yells back, slamming his hand into the strong oak of her desk, " _You_ are here. _She_ is there. But she _is_ you! She told me about the future, about finding Earth. She knew that I'd been shot. She told me Starbuck and Billy die." He shakes his head, his gaze falling to the floor.

"I am _not_ a cylon." She defends again, "You know that is the truth."

"I also know when cylons die, their memories are transferred into their new bodies. They remember everything from their previous lives."

"Madam... President..." Billy interrupts hesitantly from behind the curtain, "May I say something?"

"Of course." She responds, pulling the curtain back and allowing him to enter, "What is it?"

"Well," he glances back and forth from the Commander to the President, "She wanted to speak to _Admiral_ Adama. And she told me the last thing she remembers was being in life station and that her cancer was back. She said she was dying."

Laura looks down at her hands, her fingers trembling violently, "Gentleman, I'd appreciate it if you left now."

"Laura, I don't think that's a good idea." Bill argues and she holds up a hand to silence him.

"Go."

~oOo~

She couldn't be a cylon, could she? Could she have been mechanically engineered to destroy the remnants of the human race after they looked to her for leadership? Could she have been controlled all along? Living out a predetermined destiny of which the cylon God had created for her? She doubted it. But then again, who would be better as a sleeper agent than the Colonial President herself?

Tossing and turning in her rack long into the night and early hours of the morning left Laura with no sense of reality to cling to. Pushing herself up from her rack with a frustrated sigh and wrapping her robe tighter around herself, she headed out into her office. There was only one thing to do to ease her restless mind, something Bill would no doubt disapprove of: Sneak onto _Galactica_.

Donning the teal top and grey slacks she had worn earlier that day, she gently tapped awake her sleeping aide, "Billy."

"Madame President." He blinks the sleep from his eyes and looks up at her confusedly, "It _is_ you, not the other one, right?"

"It's me." She offers a small smile, "But that's actually why I need your help."

"Any way I can, ma'am." He rises from the chair outside her quarters where he slept, "What is it?"

"We're going to _Galactica_." She replies mischeviously, "Let's go."

"Why?" He rubs his eyes and looks at her, stifling a yawn with his hand as he buttoned up his brown jacket.

"I want to talk to her. I want to know everything she knows and experience everything she's ever experienced."

"Madam President," Billy looks at her sympathetically, "No one other than you, me, and Commander Adama knows that she even exists. I mean no disrespect, but I'm not sure this is a good idea."

"I'm going over there." She explains calmly, "You can either come with me or stay here."

The President's proposal left Billy torn between two evils. He could either follow his instincts that told him not to go, or follow his sense of duty and accompany Laura to _Galactica_. Offering his hand to help her up into the raptor, it was clear his sense of duty had won out. Now, all he could do was hope the trip went smoothly.

~oOo~

How she had managed to evade the squadron of marines that acted as her protective detail was still a mystery to him, but Billy knew better than to question it _(or her for that matter.)_ Standing in the landing bay of Galactica, Billy looked to Laura, awaiting instruction. It was nearing three in the morning so the staffing was light, and most of the faces they saw now were completely foreign. As long as they could sneak into Life Station without Bill, Colonel Tigh, Starbuck, Lee, or anyone else in the Commander's inner circle spotting them, they'd be in the clear.

What was she doing sneaking around like this anyways? She was the president of the twelve colonies _(who may or may not be a cylon,)_ she shouldn't have to act like a teenager out past curfew.They had made it nearly halfway to Life Station when one of Bill's marines stopped them.

"President Roslin." The man smiles, placing a hand on his gun but leaving it hang at his side, "Mr. Keikeya, what brings you on such an impromptu visit to Galactica this early in the morning?"

"I'm not feeling well." Laura lies, covering her mouth as she coughed, hoping the visible stress etched into her features would seal the deal, "I'm on the way to Life Station."

"Madam President, I can't let you do that. Commander's orders." The marine explains, "But if you come with me to a conference room, I can bring Cottle for you."

"No, no." Laura shakes her head and waves her hand, "I... I'm not sure it's not the cancer again." She says slowly, clutching the fabric of her shirt above her left breast, "I'm in a lot of..." She starts to sway theatrically and Billy catches her, helping her to stand as she pretended to compose herself.

"Madam President, are you okay?!" Billy asks worriedly. He gently cups her chin and forces her to look at him but she pulls away.

"Billy I'm," she lets out a ragged breath, "I'm fine. Let's just get to Cottle. Please."

"I'm so sorry Madam President." The marine looks at the duo sheepishly, stepping out of their way and allowing them to continue to Life Station, "I hope everything is well."

"Me," Laura coughs as she and Billy head down the corridor, "too."

~oOo~

"Oh my gods, did you see his face?" Laura laughs, still clinging to Billy as they made their way to Cottle's.

"It was pretty convincing." He quirks an eyebrow at her, "I had no idea you could act like that."

"Something else I picked up from politics." She rolls her eyes and lets out a puff of air as they arrive at Life Station's hatch, "I'm not worried about Cottle seeing us anymore." Laura shakes her head, "Clearly Bill doesn't want us here and I have no doubt that marine turned tail and ran right to him. Are you ready to go in there?"

"When you are, Madam President." He offers an awkward smile and opens the hatch for her, his mind running faster than the fleet's FTL as he thought of all the ways this meeting could go terribly wrong.

~oOo~

"Madam President," Billy taps the sleeping woman awake, "there's someone here to see you."

"Okay, thank you." She nods, reaching up to rub the sleep from her eyes. She expected Cottle, Bill, or maybe even Kara and Lee, not the woman that walked carefully past the curtain and into her makeshift quarters.

The two women just stared at each other for a moment, each trying to find the differences between the other. They were nearly identical, except for a few differences in the lengths and shades of their hair, they were the same woman. How was this possible?

"You're... Me..." The woman in the bed finally speaks up, her eyes wide with confusion.

"And you're me." Laura smirks, crossing her arms over her chest and sitting down next to the bed, "Are you a cylon?"

"Not unless you are." She retorts, clearly more Laura-like than the President had expected.

"Then what are you? Where did you come from?"

"Four years." The Laura in the cot replies, closing her eyes and leaning back against the mound of pillows, "We run from the cylons for four years before we finally make it out. And then I... Or _we_... Die."

"How do you know?" The President asks, trying to stay calm in the face of her apparent death, "How do you know all of these things will happen if you're not a cylon?"

"I don't know how I know." Her eyes are still closed, her chest rising and falling evenly, "But I can tell you everything that's happened before, and everything that will ever happen in this fleet. I've lived it. Somehow, I've experienced it all. I was in Life Station, and I was dying. We had just found Earth," she scoffs, "and it was a frakking wasteland. I burned Pythia and lost my frakking mind right there in front of Bill."

"What?" Laura asks shocked, "What do you mean Earth is a wasteland. The scrolls said-"

"Oh, frak the scrolls!" She exclaims, "The scrolls predicted the slaughter of the human race! They predicted a rebirth of humanity, and that Kobol would lead us to the prophetical Earth. Have you been to Kobol yet? Kobol brought us nothing but death! The scrolls predicted that too! Earth was a _cylon_ colony. They called it the thirteenth tribe, and it was nuked thousands of years ago. I suppose while I'm at it, you'd like to know the names of the final five cylons?" She quirks and eyebrow, "Or hasn't D'Anna told you about them yet? Did you know Baltar becomes president and runs this fleet straight into the ground?"

"Laura!" The curtain surrounding the two women is quickly pulled back, revealing a furious Commander Adama, "What the frak do you think you're doing?!" He hisses, grabbing her forearm strongly and leading her out of Life Station.

~oOo~

"I should throw you in the brig." Bill states bluntly, pacing back and forth in front of the couch where she sat in his quarters, "What the hell were you thinking Laura?"

"I'm thinking," she crosses her legs and places her hands in her lap, glaring at him over the rims of her glasses, "that neither one of us -or me, or her for that matter- know what we are. I can't be a cylon Bill. We both know that. But what I don't know is how she knows these things. She was dying, wherever she was before. She told me about Earth, about the 'final five cylons,' and that Baltar becomes President and destroys this fleet, _our_ fleet."

"I'm going to have to declare martial law, Laura." He looks at her sadly, momentarily stopping his pacing to rub his forehead and pour himself a glass of whiskey, "I can't have you leading this fleet knowing at any moment the switch could flip and you could send us right into an ambush."

"I would never-" she stands up quickly and crosses her arms defiantly.

"And neither would Boomer." He responds, "Trust me, that woman in there, whatever she is, whatever you are, she told me things. She's told you things. We have to keep this between us, if word gets out to the fleet, we'll have a riot."

"So what do you want me to do?" She asks, her voice full of disbelief as she poured herself a glass of whiskey as well, "Step down and let Gaius Baltar run this fleet when _Future Me_ just said he destroys everything?"

"That's exactly what I'm asking you to do." He answers quietly, reaching up to cup her cheek, his calloused hand scratching her soft skin, "I'm sorry Laura. We'll figure this out, I promise." He offers a hesitant smile, leaning in and pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of her mouth, "My marines are outside, let them take you back to Colonial One. And don't act like Ellen this time," he teases, "always causing a scene."

"Thank you." She whispers almost inaudibly, shaking her head in thanks beneath his palm, "I'll call you later."

"Good night, Madam President."

~oOo~

In a mere matter of hours, Bill Adama's life had been completely turned upside down like a viper in a tailspin. Laura Roslin, his friend _-and maybe something more-_ the President of the Twelve Colonies, had shown up unannounced in the CIC, which wasn't unusual, had she been aboard _Galactica_ to begin with. Then a frazzled Billy Keikeya tells him that he is sitting aboard Colonial One with Roslin at that very moment, setting off sirens and bells in the Commander's head. What the frak was going on? What in gods' names was Laura? Could she be a cylon? Or a new breed of humanoid the fleet had yet to encounter?

The thought made his skin crawl. The thought that Laura, _his_ Laura, could be the thing that he had spent the majority of his life protecting the colonies against, the thought that he had become so fond of her in the past months doing nothing to ease the blow.

The things that _Future Laura_ had said to him were beyond mind-boggling. He wasn't sure he could deal with losing Kara, she was like family to him. And Billy? Gods, he knew Laura put her heart and soul into that boy, hoping one day he would take her place. They were surrounded by death, and _Future Laura_ told them there was nothing but more to come.

 _Future Laura._ How could he even begin to understand her parting words earlier that evening? _"I love you."_ The words had ricocheted around his skull until he had a headache. How could she love him? How could he be feeling so deeply for a woman that may or may not have destroyed humanity, who may or may not be a second attempt at assassinating him? He didn't know.

But if there was one thing he did know, it was that Laura Roslin was a human. It was that she and she alone could command the dwindling population of humanity during a mass extinction with the hopes of bringing them to a new planet. She couldn't be a cylon, and even if she were, he'd refuse to believe it.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I finished writing this chapter over two weeks ago and had no motivation to publish it. I deserve to be shot out an airlock.

~oOo~

"This decision was not an easy one for me to make." President Laura Roslin sighs, leaning against the podium in the interview room aboard Colonial One, "However, I felt that it was in both my best interest and the interest of this fleet to temporarily allow Vice President Baltar to take my seat as acting president."

Before she could even finish her sentence, the room erupted with questions. Karen, one of the more vocal reporters, finally managed to ask the question that was burning in the back of everyone's minds, "Madam President, has your cancer returned?"

"Karen," Laura purses her lips in an attempt at a faux smile, "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, I can promise you that."

"Then why step down?" She probes, pressing a button on her handheld recorder, "Madam President, why would you step down from your position if you aren't dying?"

"Last time I was dying," Laura begins, clasping her hands together and trying not to roll her eyes, "did I or didn't I lead this fleet? Hm, Karen? In fact, I became president of this fleet the same day I was told I was going to die, and I pushed it aside. I led this fleet with the sole intention of ensuring our survival, knowing it would cost me my life. If that situation arises again," she states strongly, "know that I will continue with my duties until I am no longer able to fulfill them. Vice President Baltar will be acting as president for the next few weeks-"

"Madam President, you never answered my question. Why are you stepping down?" Karen asks again.

"The President is not obligated to share every intimate detail of her personal life with all of you." Bill interjects, emerging from the shadows and coming to Laura's aide, "She will still be assisting Dr. Baltar with any presidential decisions that require her attention. Let's go Laura." He turns his head to the side and whispers in her ear as he places a hand on the small of her back and leads her through the curtain, the roaring voices of the press ringing in their ears.

~oOo~

"Gods, what are we going to do?" Bill sighs, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand, "You've been in politics for how long and couldn't even fashion a believable lie?"

"Well, Bill," she crosses her arms over her chest and smirks at him as he paces back and forth in front of her, "there are very few reasons I would have to resign my position, including but not limited to: any kind of scandal, betrayal of the fleet, terminal illness, incapacitation, or if I were a cylon. How do you think any of those would've gone over with the fleet, hm?" She hums as she taps her foot on the ground impatiently, "You know I'm not happy about this either."

"Until we figure out what the hell is going on here, I'm going to have to keep covering for you, and I'm going to have to make sure Baltar doesn't 'accidentally' launch the nukes." He scoffs and rolls his eyes, finally ceasing his pacing, "What should I tell the fleet when they ask about you?"

"Tell them," Laura squints, focusing intently as she tapped her finger on her chin, "tell them I've been receiving death threats and that I will be living undercover aboard one of the ships until the situation is resolved."

"So, you'll be leaving then?" The words come out before he can even think about them, and the sadness in his voice is evident, "Have you picked a ship yet?"

"I was thinking..." She pauses with a smirk, clearly enjoying how distraught Bill was becoming at the thought of being separated from her, "Galactica could be nice."

"We're going to have to be careful. When word gets out about these 'threats,' it could spark something. Not to mention that she is also aboard Galactica."

"I know you're scared Bill." Laura states, sitting down in one of the passenger seats and closing her eyes, "She shows up, tells you she's dying, and brings up the question of my humanity. And the fact that you and I have become closer these past few months," she shakes her head as he comes to sit beside her, "it doesn't make this any easier, and I'm forever grateful for the way you've treated me despite all of this. I do appreciate it."

"It's no trouble, really." Bill leans back in his seat, the crinkling sound of leather filling the small compartment.

"Bill," she nearly whispers, opening her eyes and turning to face him, "what if I'm really a cylon?"

"Don't talk like that." He tries to reassure her, "You're one of the bravest women," he emphasizes, "that I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."

"And what about Boomer?" She questions apologetically, her emerald eyes heavy with the weight of their current predicament, "She's a soldier for gods' sakes, that takes some bravery."

"Laura, are you convinced you're a cylon?" He asks softly in that 'pity-voice' she hated so much.

"I don't know what the frak I am!" She exclaims and rises from her seat, pacing back and forth in front of Bill, "Part of me doesn't want to believe it and part of me thinks it's the only logical explanation!" She huffs, taking off her glasses and wiping away the tears clinging to her eyelashes before Bill could see them fall, "What if every choice I've ever made wasn't my choice at all? What if I was programmed to be a politician and to be here the day the attack was launched? What if I'm not who I think I am at all?" The tears finally begin to fall and she covers her mouth in an attempt to muffle a sob.

"Hey," Bill coos softly, standing up and pulling her into his arms, "Laura," he pulls her out of his embrace for a moment and forces her to look at him, "you're human. Just like me, just like Saul and Billy. You," he reaches up and gently swipes a tear from her cheek, "you survived the attack by sheer coincidence just like the rest of us, and you've taken care of these people. You're not a cylon Sweetheart," he doesn't falter, even after the words he had spoken registered in his mind, "you're not."

"But what if..." She buries her head in the crook of his neck as her tears come flowing out, "what if I am? I don't want to die Bill! I don't want you to shoot me out the airlock like I did to Leoben! How could I have done that to him? He was alive Bill, just like we're alive and I killed him!

I... I killed so many people!"

"No you didn't." He coos, tracing up and down her back with his fingertips, "You killed our enemy."

"And what if... What if I'm the enemy? Will you be able to kill me? Please tell me you'll be able to."

"No, Laura." He shakes his head sadly as he presses a kiss to her temple, "I couldn't kill you, even if you were a cylon. You mean too much to me."

"What... What does that mean?" She pulls out and looks at him, her face ashen and eyes red with tears, "That you'd keep me alive even after everything we've done to you?"

"Please, stop associating yourself with them. You're human, remember? Born on Caprica, raised in the big city with your sisters. Hell of a schoolteacher I hear, and not bad as a president either." He offers an encouraging smile, reaching up and cupping her chin, "We'll get to the bottom of this Laura, I promise. Would you like to go to Galactica?" He questions, leaning in and pressing a warm kiss to her forehead as she nodded her approval.

~oOo~

"And here it is, the last thing in your suitcase, Dark Days." Bill smiles to himself as he tapped the book in his hands, "You know, we could start a book collection for you." He suggests, placing the book back in its designated spot on the shelf, "Assuming you'll be here for a while, that is."

"Who knows how long I'll be here." He can hear her voice coming from the direction of his rack, and he turns to find her sitting on the edge of the mattress, her head hung solemnly, "Are you sure you want me to stay here? If I... If I get activated I don't want to hurt you because I'm not myself anymore. I don't want to hurt you." Her voice fades out in a whisper and she lifts her eyes to meet his as she toyed absentmindedly with her fingers.

"Laura, you're safer here." He assures her, kneeling in front of her and placing his hand atop hers, "I took an oath to defend this fleet, and you are a part of it."

"So was Boomer." The thought kept coming back to haunt her, the way she had seen Bill treat one of his star (cylon) pilots, "She was a part of this fleet too, and you nearly killed her. What if that ends up being me?" The tears are threatening to fall again and Bill takes her hands, bringing them gently to his lips.

"Boomer," he shakes his head, her hands still cradled in his, "she put two rounds in my chest. Yes, there were times when you and I disagreed," Laura offers a watery laugh at his statement, "but you have never tried to hurt me."

"Neither did Boomer, until they activated her. I'm just so afraid that will happen to me. That I'll wake up one day and have no control over my body and be forced to watch myself kill someone."

"That's not going to happen." Bill groans as he stands with a crack of his knees, "Do you know why?"

"Hm?" Laura hums, withdrawing one of her hands from his as she hastily wiped her nose.

"Because you're human." He states, gently pulling her off of the bed and into his waiting arms, "You're human Laura, we're going to get through this, I promise."

~oOo~

"How're you feeling young lady?" Doc Cottle asks in his typical gruff-yet-friendly voice, a cigarette between his lips, "Better today?"

"Much better." Future Laura nods her head with a quiet hum, "When will I be able to leave?"

"Well," Cottle looks at her nervously, unsure of how to approach the unusual woman, "I'll have to ask the Commander."

"I understand." She nods, clasping her hands together in her lap, "Could you find him for me? I'd like to talk to him, and to get these off." She jiggles her arm that is still handcuffed to the side of the cot as Doc Cottle nods his head and hurries away.

~oOo~

"How're you feeling?" Bill asks as he shuffles into the makeshift room and pulls the curtain closed, "Cottle said you asked for me?"

"Can you take these off?" She looks at him pleadingly, jangling the metal of the handcuffs as he pulls out the key and unlocks them, "Thank you."

"Of course." He nods, studying her intently. She was such a far cry from the Laura he had just left. This Laura was calm, composed, and very serious, while the other Laura, his Laura was on the verge of a breakdown when he told her he had to leave, "Why do you want to speak with me?"

"What day is it today?" She asks as she props herself up in the bed, studying him just as intently as he was studying her.

"The sixteenth of January, why?" He questions.

"Because Bill, today is the day that Helena Cain is assassinated."

"No." He stands up quickly, his chair nearly tipping over, "I can't let that happen!"

"Bill!" She begins to rise from her cot when he turns around and glares at her, "You don't know it, but Admiral Cain had a hit out on you. Now you either let the past repeat itself or you die right here and now."

"How..." Bill mumbles, reaching up and scratching his jaw absentmindedly as he sat back down in the chair, "I still don't understand how you know all of this."

"I don't either, but I need you to trust me." She pleads, "Now listen to me Bill." She looks at him sternly and sits back down when he does the same, "There's a cylon aboard Pegasus, one of the number six models. They've been interrogating her, abusing her, and raping her. She escapes and shoots the Admiral in her quarters before disappearing off of the ship. You have to let this happen Bill, otherwise her men will kill you. I suppose it didn't happen this time around, but before, I convinced you to have Starbuck assassinate her when the time came. Helena Cain is ruthless, she abandoned hundreds of people in space and killed countless others. You're a noble man with a strong sense of duty, and I understand you want to protect her but some people, they just aren't worth saving."

"And you get to decide that?" He questions, his voice deep with rage, "You were the President of the Colonies for frak's sake, you should know you have no right to decide who lives and who dies."

"I didn't decide this Bill! The Gods did! The Gods knew she was a threat to our survival! The cylon God even knew she was a threat to our survival and had one of their creations kill her! You can't change the past Bill, it's already been written."

"This may be your past, but it's the fleet's present and future." He states before throwing back the curtain and storming out of Life Station.

~oOo~

"Dad!" Lee exclaims at the sight of his father storming down the corridors of Pegasus, "What's going on?!"

"Get your marines and come with me right now!" Bill exclaims as he continues quickly through the maze of hallways and compartments.

~oOo~

Please, Gods, just let him live Laura prays, taking a few deep breaths as she pushes back the pale blue curtain and steps into the interview room aboard Colonial One.

"Ms. Roslin!" The echoing voices ring in her ears as Billy comes to stand beside her, his nervous energy burning her skin, "Ms. Roslin, do you have a statement to make about today's events?"

"I do." She lets out a deep breath and opens her mouth to speak when none other than Gaius Baltar bursts through the curtain.

"What you people do not seem to understand is that cylons are not our enemies- not all of them, that is." He interjects, "What happened earlier today on Pegasus, that was a tragedy, but it was not unprovoked. The crew of the Pegasus, they were torturing this cylon, Gina, they raped her and abused her. And I... I know all of this because Admiral Cain, she asked me to help her team. I saw Gina. She was starving, covered in cuts and bruises, and she was scared."

"Dr. Baltar," Laura hisses under her breath, "I suggest you stop."

"You see, this whole senseless tragedy could have been avoided had we just-"

"Dr. Baltar!" Laura exclaims, "Get out now, before you make things worse than they already are!" She glares at him as the press starts chattering with surprise, "Thank you for your assistance, Billy show him out please."

"Yes, Ms. Roslin."

~oOo~

"I'm sorry about all of that." Laura shakes her head, holding so tightly to the podium that her knuckles were turning white, "As I was beginning to say before," she lets out a deep breath, "The attack aboard Pegasus today was unexpected. Admiral Helena Cain was found in her quarters after suffering a fatal bulletwound. As for Commander Adama, he was found beside Admiral Cain. He was shot twice, once in the shoulder and once in the chest. He is in surgery aboard Galactica as we speak, and until further notice, this fleet will be under the direction of Colonel Saul Tigh. I will make announcements regarding the Commander's health and status of the fleet over the comm system as I see fit. Thank you everyone for your patience."

And with that she turned and retreated behind the curtain before another uproar could start.

~oOo~

"Colonel Tigh, I need you to do this." She sighs, looking at him intently over Bill's wooden desk, "You've done it before, and I have no doubt you'll be able to do it again."

"Well maybe I don't want to." He grumbles, slamming down his glass after emptying it for the third time, "My best friend's been shot. Again. And we don't know if he's gonna live or if he's gonna die or why the frak he was there in the first place."

"You're right." Laura agrees with a sigh, swishing the ambrosia in her glass before taking a long sip, "And when he wakes up and finds out someone else was running this fleet, how do you think he'll feel about that?"

"We don't even know if he'll frakking wake up!" Saul exclaims, slamming his glass down and causing Laura to jump, "He could die Madam President! If I lose him-" His voice trails off and he rubs his forehead, pacing throughout Bill's quarters.

"Colonel Tigh," Laura calls hesitantly, slowly standing up from the desk and gently squeezing his arm, "we're not going to lose him. We're going to get through this, all of us, the whole fleet. But for right now, I need you to do this. And if not for me, then do it for Bill. I can't be President, not right now, and Dr. Baltar sure as hell can't either. Please, Colonel."

"Yes, okay, fine." He grumbles, "I'll do it. I'll declare marshal law first thing tomorrow morning."

"Thank you." She whispers and nods her head in thanks, blinking back her tears as Saul headed towards the hatch, "Goodnight, Colonel."

"Goodnight, Madam President."

"Laura."

"Goodnight Laura."

~oOo~

Sitting alone in his quarters in the dark, Laura felt as if the walls were closing in on her. She was no longer the President, her best friend was dying, and gods only knew if she was a cylon.

Bill. How could this have happened to him? Did she know, that other version of her? She wanted to ask, but she couldn't bear to go to Life Station, not now, not while Bill was hanging on by a thread.

Everything smelled like him. She was in his quarters after all, but his typical scent- a mix of alcohol, smoke, and perspiration- was heartbreaking today rather than intoxicating.

His rack. Where he had held her and promised her everything would be fine just hours before. Where she had cried and cried as he held her and brushed away her tears.

If only he were a cylon too. Then she wouldn't be so afraid, if he could just die and wake up again in a new body, all of his aches and pains a thing of the past.

Maybe that's all she needed. To wake up somewhere else, free from all of her burdens.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Just a warning this chapter is written pretty weirdly, at least in my opinion. In the series we are around the episode "Epiphanies." All italicised portions are Laura's dreams._

~oOo~

"Did you know Bill was going to get shot?" Laura asks the woman in the cot, "You claim to know everything that has and will happen to this fleet. You knew this would happen!" She exclaims, "You knew the man I love may very well die and you did nothing to stop it!"

"That is _not_ true!" _Future Laura_ shoots back, "I did _everything_ to protect him! I knew that Admiral Cain was going to die; I told him everything I knew about the operations aboard _Pegasus._ He got so mad and said he was going to stop it from happening. I told him he couldn't stop it and and that he would put himself in more danger. He wanted to save Admiral Cain."

"You know Bill, better than I do, I'd assume." Laura sits in the chair across from the cot, crossing her legs and resting her hands in her lap, "So why in the hell did you think you could tell him something like that and not expect him to try to stop it?!"

"I don't know!" _Future Laura_ glares at the woman in front of her, " _All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again._ Helena Cain _had_ to die. Nothing any of us could have done would have stopped that, but Bill…" She closes her eyes and covers her face with her hands, "This didn't happen before, everything is different now. How are you feeling? It's almost that time. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, I'm not sure exactly. Have you and Adama talked yet about the cylon child? That decision could very easily upturn your life if you aren't careful."

"What the frak does that mean?" Laura spits, "That child is a _danger_ to the entire fleet. Bill and I talked about it; terminating her pregnancy is the only way to protect the rest of us."

"But what if sacrificing the child leads to your death?" _Future Laura_ questions mysteriously, "You've been feeling rather tired lately, am I right? Your whole body feels heavy, it's causing you excruciating pain just to put on a shirt in the morning, isn't it? How long has it been since the attacks? You can't honestly convince me that you've stopped counting down the days you have left, you know you're running out of time."

"Who do you think you are?!" Laura seeths, bolting out of her chair and clasping her hand around _Future Laura_ 's throat, "Give me one good reason not to kill you _right now_."

"Because then you'll end up in the same position. It's a bit of a problem, isn't it, that in order for you to survive you have to accept that this is what will become of you? That you'll be dying in Life Station one minute and in CIC the next, being persecuted by the man you love for being a cylon? Imagine how difficult this is for me! It must be just as difficult for you! You want to die, don't you? Want to know if you'll wake up somewhere else in a new body, but you're paralyzed. Paralyzed by the idea that you could very possibly be human. That if you take your own life you won't ever wake up. Don't you think I know exactly how you're feeling? I have all of these memories, of Bill and I, of Earth, of New Caprica, all the wonderful and horrible things, I know it all. Maybe I am a cylon. Maybe I downloaded into this body with all of my old memories, or maybe I'm human. Maybe I was put here for some godsforsaken reason, just like you were. Maybe I'm here to keep all of the tragedies I experienced from happening again, even though it looks like all I've done is create more. Maybe we have to work together."

Laura lets go of her throat and sits back down, a look of pure disgust on her face, "Work together? Are you insane?"

"Are you?" _Future Laura_ asks with a grin, "I am you after all."

"Why should I work with you? You've already gotten Bill shot."

"I can save Billy. I can protect this fleet better than you can. I can keep Saul from losing his eye, and Baltar from gaining the presidency. You just have to trust me."

"Easier said than done." Laura scoffs, "And you still haven't answered my question. _Why_ should I trust you?"

"Would you like to hear a story?" _Future Laura_ asks, earning her a cross glare from herself, "Alright, I'll take that as a yes." She nods, licking her lips before speaking again, "Within the next few days, you're going to meet death. It's over, it's done. Terminal illness, no cure, right? Well, that little cylon baby, she saves you. Baltar," she rolls her eyes, "finds a way to cure you using the blood. You dream of him, him and a cylon you saw before the fall. You dream of Richard, of the fight the two of you had when it finally came tumbling down. And you wake up to find Bill by your side, saying he wanted to visit an old friend. _That_ is why you should trust me."

"I don't know any of that is true."

"Give it a few days then, you'll see." And without another word, Laura Roslin, President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol stormed out of the makeshift room in search of Bill.

~oOo~

There were some things Laura wished she'd never have to experience again, like sitting next to Bill in Life Station while he was hooked up to an oxygen tank and hanging onto life by a thread. She had prayed to the gods that after the first time, she'd never have to see something that horrific again, that she'd never have to feel the tightening in her chest every time he struggled to breathe.

 _Yet here she was, doing it all over again_. It was bad. She knew by the look on Ishay's face when she had stormed into Life Station that it was anything but good. And she prayed, gods did she pray. Now more than ever, she wished Elosha was still there with her, to comfort her and read from the scriptures that they had both so often sought comfort in.

"Bill, can you hear me?" Laura whispers, reaching out to place her hand atop his, "'It's Laura."

 _Nothing._

"Bill, the fleet needs you. _I_ need you." She sniffles, " _Future Me,_ she said I only have a few days left, and I… I'm scared Bill. I don't want to lose you, or this, _any_ of it. We're running for our lives from our murderous creations and I wouldn't trade it for the worlds. That's sick, isn't it?" She lets out a watery laugh, "Whatever time I have left, I want to spend it with you. I told her I loved you. I didn't even think, it just came out. I love you Bill, and I need you to wake up." She breathes out, leaning in and gently kissing his cheek, "Please."

A soft hum at the entrance to the curtain startles her and she turns around to find none other than Sherman Cottle, looking grumpy as ever, "Young Lady, what are you doing here?" He questions, lighting the cigarette that hung in his waiting lips, "He told me to make sure you didn't leave your quarters. Dammit Madam President, if you get me in trouble with him…"

"He spoke?" She asks hopefully, her eyes glimmering with tears, "When?"

"When they brought him in. It's a miracle he didn't talk himself to death." He states, causing Laura to let out a watery laugh, "And it was all about you too. 'Laura this, Laura that.'" He waves his cigarette in the air for emphasis, "I have never seen someone in such critical condition worrying about someone else."

"How bad is it?" She asks, her eyes never leaving Bill, "How long until he wakes up?"

"We have him sedated right now, but he'll be fine. In a hell of a lot of pain, but fine. The shot to his chest is what did most of the damage, reopening a wound that was hardly a year old. He was just grazed on the shoulder, thank gods, so we didn't have to reconstruct anything. Give him a few hours and he'll be awake again Little Lady." He comes to stand closer to Laura, reaching out and rubbing her shoulder comfortingly, "How are you feeling?" He asks, pretending as though he had no idea the grim date was swiftly approaching, "I can't imagine this has been easy on you."

"No, it hasn't been." She shakes her head and reaches up to wipe her nose, her other hand never leaving Bill's, "But I'm fine, thank you for checking."

He kneels down next to her and clears his throat in a futile attempt to make her look at him, "Are you prepared for everything that's going to happen Laura? I know this is frightening-"

"No, you _don't_ know!" She exclaims, turning to look at him with eyes matching the intensity of the colonies the day of the fall, "You have _no_ idea! Not _only_ is the man I love shot and possibly dying _again_ , so am I. And that other version of me, she said Baltar finds a way to save me! But she also said that Bill didn't get shot! So what if this time it's different? What if this time I die?!"

"She knows how to cure you?!" Cottle asks, standing up as quickly as his aging body allowed, "How?"

"Something about the baby's blood…" She mumbles, reaching up and running a hand through Bill's hair in an attempt to console herself.

"That's brilliant!" Cottle exclaims before rushing out of the room and towards _Future Laura_ 's quarters.

~oOo~

 _How had he not thought of this?!_ Rushing frantically through Life Station, Cottle can't believe he'd never tried to cure her. She was terminal after all, but in a universe full of humanoid-robots, he supposed anything was possible.

"Doctor Baltar, I need your help." Cottle explains over the telephone, "It's urgent just get here." He grumbles before hanging up and going to find Sharon Valerii.

~oOo~

He _had_ to save her. There was no other option. She was much too important to the fleet (and to the Commander) not to save.

 _How has he not thought of that before?_ They were machines, of course they didn't have a blood type! And never once had he heard of a cylon contracting a terminal illness. So they must be immune?

This was the first (and _only)_ time Jack Cottle would be grateful for Gaius Baltar. He could save her, and gods, did she need to be saved.

He cared for Laura, no matter how much he tried to hide that fact. He cared for her like a daughter, and in some ways he had accepted her as a surrogate for his Nasha, the daughter he had lost the day the apocalypse started. Maybe it was her personality that reminded him of Nasha, the way she bottled up her emotions and covered her fears with a strong façade until it became too much, the way she cried when she was certain no one was watching, and her fierce protectiveness for the ones she cared about.

 _And maybe that's why finding Laura on the floor, gasping for breath had kicked his paternal instincts into overdrive. It didn't matter that she was the President. She shared her soul with Nasha, and Jack Cottle refused to lose another daughter._

~oOo~

"B… Bill…" Laura manages to choke out despite the oxygen tube jammed into her nose, "Where… is Bill?" She rolls around her cot frantically despite the pain it was causing her, "Cottle!"

"Madam President!" Cottle exclaims, bursting through the curtain, "How are you feeling? Just relax, calm down. You've just been through a traumatic event, you need to rest."

"What happened… to me? Where... is Bill?"

"Gods, you're almost as bad as him." Cottle sigh and massages his temples, "The two of you, I swear. Both struggling through near-death experiences and only worrying about each other. You two are the kind of crap the prophecies are made of." He rolls his eyes, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

Laura looks at him begrudgingly, the light, ashy pallor to her skin making her appear even more frightening, "Oh, go frak yourself." She grumbles, "Please just answer my questions."

"That _other you_ , she was right. I went and found Baltar, and when I came back to get you, you were laying on the floor nearly seizing, choking because you couldn't breathe. We got you into the operating room right away and Baltar was able to synthesise a cure from Valerii's cord blood. Six-and-a-half hours later and here we are Young Lady."

"H… Hours?" She questions weakly, "Bill, is he awake yet? And get me Billy, please get me Billy."

"Ishay, call Billy!" Cottle yells out, "Bill wasn't awake last time I checked on him."

"Let me see her!" A gruff, rocky voice calls out, "Gods dammit let me see the President!"

"I… I think he's awake. I'll be right back Madam President, my apologies." Cottle utters quickly before hurrying away.

~oOo~

He was just as worried for her as she was for him, _that was quite something, wasn't it?_ They had gone from being mortal enemies to colleagues to in _love?_ Oh how killer robots changed things (for the better in this case, ironic, isn't it?)

Somehow during all the commotion, Laura had managed to fall into a peaceful sleep. Maybe it was the drugs Cottle had given her, or the sound of Bill's voice calling for her. Either way, it didn't matter. They were both alive and well for the time being.

 _Laura was standing in the middle of Caprica city on a busy day, carelessly dragging her toes through the cool water of the fountain below. Someone caught her eye, a tall, attractive blonde woman and a man with scraggly brown hair walking together through the city's centre._

"Wheel me over there, dammit Cottle please!" Bill begged, his usually steady voice wavering unwontedly, "I need to see her."

 _Was that… Dr. Baltar? And the cylon Gina who also called herself Shelley Godfrey? What the frak? Was this real, had this happened, or was it her subconscious letting her see what she wanted to?_

"Commander, she needs her space." Cottle persisted, knowing he was going to lose this battle, "She needs her rest."

"And so do I. But I won't rest until I see that _she_ is okay, do you hear me?"

" _Laura, you need to stop the strike. Talk to them, work with them." Then-President Richard Adar begged, leaning back against his desk, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, "Things are getting out of control."_

" _They're not wrong Richard." She crosses her arms over her chest much like he had and bladed her stance, her eyes narrowing sardonically, "I'm not going to negotiate with them. Our wages are far too low to sustain living on this planet. We're Caprican. We're the most highly educated of the colonies, and we're being paid less than the dirt eaters on Tauron. Look at it from our perspective."_

"Please, just wait until she wakes up." Cottle begged

"If you don't take me to see her I will go over there myself, do you hear me?" He hissed, "Take me. _Now."_

"Commander, you are in no position to try and walk right now." Ishay tried to soothe him, "Wait just a little while longer, please."

"Get me a cigar and maybe we'll talk." He grumbled before letting out a throaty cough, "But I _will_ see the President before the day is over."

" _You have to do this Laura." Adar urged, "It's our only option."_

" _No." She threw him a steely glare, "It's_ your _only option. So_ you _can pocket the extra cubits. We're in Caprica City for gods' sakes, there's more than enough wealth to go around."_

" _Do it Laura." His jaw tensed and he gazed towards the ground, "I need you to do this."_

" _And what if I don't? What're you going to do?" She taps her foot on the ground impatiently as she awaits his response, "Throw me in prison?"_

After what seemed like hours of complaining, Cottle finally agreed to wheel Bill's cot over next to Laura's. Bill craned his neck to observe her sleeping form, a small grunt escaping his lips due to the pain he was in. _She was alright._ Knowing that she was alive was worth the pain. With a sad smile he reaches out and covers her hand with his, "Laura, I'm here."

" _Do it, or we're done." Adar threatened, "And you're fired."_

" _You're going to_ fire _me?" She asks outraged, "For doing_ my _job, for listening to the people?"_

" _I need a cabinet I can work with. This," he motions between the two of them, "it's not working."_

" _Oh, it was working just fine when you wanted someone other than Irene!" She hissed, "What happened to the Richard Adar that wanted to make the Colonies a better place?"_

" _What happened to the Laura Roslin that didn't question authority?"_

Now more at ease, Bill continued to smoke his cigar while Laura slept. He knew she'd be pissed as hell to wake up and find him smoking around her, but he could care less. He needed something other than Cottle's damned drugs to calm him down.

He watches Laura's eyelids flicker slowly before they open, her emerald orbs worn and tired, "Bill…" She breathes out almost as if she's afraid he'll disappear, "Thank the gods you're alright. Why are you here?"

"Thank the gods you're alright too. I came to and they were putting you on a stretcher and moving you to surgery." He lets out a deep cough, "I just…" He glances away for a moment embarrassed, "I wanted to visit an old friend. What happened to you Laura?" He questions worriedly.

"I was supposed to die today Bill." She replies quietly, to which he rubs his thumb across her knuckles. She glances down at their hands and then smiles up at him, "But _Future Me,_ she knew how Baltar synthesised the cure when it happened to her. I told Cottle and they were able to save me." She closes her eyes and leans back in the cot, letting out a deep breath, "If we had decided to terminate Sharon Valerii's pregnancy, I would have died."

"Well I guess it's a good thing we didn't then." He offers her the biggest smile he can muster, "Did I miss anything else?"

"Well let's see," she opens her eyes and smiles at him, using her 'schoolteacher voice' to fill him in on the situation, "Baltar interrupted and most likely _ruined_ my press conference, the cylon that shot you disappeared off of Pegasus somehow, Saul declared martial law, Cottle complained about everything and…" she paused for a moment, " _Future Me_ was right." Her voice trails off as she finishes the phrase, almost as if she were surprised it were true.

"What does that mean?" Bill asks confused, "What was she right about?"

"She said… that when I nearly died, I would dream about Baltar and this woman when I saw them back in Caprica City. She was a cylon. And she said I would dream about my fight with Adar. All of that happened, just as vividly as it was yesterday. And she told me… That when I woke up you'd say you wanted to visit an old friend. I don't know what to think any more." She sighed as the curtain was pulled back to reveal a very nervous Billy Keikeya.

"Madam President, Commander, I am so relieved that the two of you are alright." He speaks quickly, sitting down in the chair to Laura's left, "I came as fast as I could."

"Thank you Billy." She looked to him, her eyes filling with that motherly pride they so often held in his regard, "How is the Colonel doing?"

"Pissed… er… not very happy. My apologies Madam President. Between what happened to the Commander, trying to control the fleet, and what happened to you, he's been a little on edge."

"Good old Saul." Bill shakes his head reminiscently, "Some things never change."

"Hey, what is going on here?" Cottle bursts through the divider, "The President really shouldn't have any visitors, let alone _two_." He glares from the Commander to Billy, the latter looking mortified.

"I'm sorry Sir… I… I'll head back to Colonial One." He mumbles and stands up, heading for the curtain when Cottle speaks again.

"Sit your ass down son, you can stay. I'm just taking every chance I have to torment these two."

"Oh, of course Sir." Billy nods, pulling on his suit jacket as he sat down.

"Do _not_ ," he points to Laura, "under _any_ circumstances let him," he wags a finger at Bill, "try to get out of that bed. You hear me?"

"Yes Sir." Laura nodded with a sly smile, "I'll make sure the Commander doesn't do anything stupid."

Bill shoots her a soft glare as Cottle leaves them, "That comment was unnecessary, Madam President." He poked, "I would never do something _stupid_."

"How did you end up with two more bulletholes then?" She questions with a quirked eyebrow.

"I… I'm gonna run down to the CIC and check on the Colonel." Billy interjects before quickly escaping the tense conversation.

"I was trying to do what was right." His face falls and Laura reaches up to caress his cheek.

"I know you were." She comforts him with a small smile, "You did the right thing Bill."

"Thank you. That means a lot Laura." He offers her a genuine smile, "Would you like to read?"

"How did you get a book?" She asks excitedly, her hand leaving his cheek so she could clap happily.

"I think Saul stopped by while I was still under. I've never seen this one before, I don't know where he got it from." He curiously turns the book over in his hands and squints.

"What is it called?" Laura questions, leaning closer to him to try and examine the dark blue novel.

" _The Melancholy of Life."_ Bill reads aloud, "Where did he even find this?"

"Just read it." Laura instructs, more than a little eager to hear him read (which she secretly loved.)

"Okay." Bill lets out a deep breath before opening the cover and positioning his glasses on the bridge of his nose, " _I open my eyes and take that first breath. That first breath of frigid, heavy Picon air burnt my lungs. I was alive. But it wasn't a_ life _without her.'"_


End file.
